The Stepmother
by IAin'tGotNoLegsOrNoBrain
Summary: Snow White has been locked away since her father died four years ago. But when a prince, who knows about her existance through his father, tells the queen that Snow is the fairest, she's jealous and sends the girl to be killed, but Snow has other plans.
1. Chapter 1

ONE:

Alexander, king of the small kingdom that many thought of as peaceful and perfect, held tight to the hand of the woman lying on the bed beside him—Clare, the girl he loved with all his heart, though she was not his queen, who had died long ago. Clare was a beautiful young girl, twenty-three years old, with dark brown hair and eyes so green they reminded Alexander of a meadow's grass. Tears sprang to his eyes when the physician spoke.

"She's not going to make it, Your Majesty," he said softly, and Alexander bowed his head, resting it on Clare's shoulder. Clare let out one last cry of pain before the wailing of a newborn infant filled the room. Tears dripping down her sweaty cheeks, Clare breathed shallowly as she touched Alexander's shoulder.

"Remember her name," she whispered, her breath beginning to fail her. "I love you." As the physician placed a small baby girl, wrapped in a pink blanket, in Alexander's arms, Clare breathed her last. He looked down at the child, kissing her forehead lightly. Her hair was as black as the night outside, he noted. Skin so pale she looked to be made of snow. Already, her lips were red as a ripe strawberry.

He trailed a finger from her eyes to the bottom of her chin. "Snow White," he whispered, and clutched the infant to his chest, tears streaming down his face.

***SEVENTEEN YEARS AND THREE-HUNDRED AND SIXTY-FOUR DAYS LATER***

She heard the announcement from her place in the small storage room above the dining hall of the palace.

"Introducing, King Alfred Winslow of Vienn and his son, Prince Ethan," the man announced, and she crept over to the square door in the ground of the room, pulling it open and lying on her stomach, resting her head on her fist as she looked down at the party below them. She saw her two twin stepsisters, Kelly and Kathy, dressed lavishly in their gowns: Kelly in a dark gold trimmed with silver, and Kathy in a violet trimmed in gold. Both looked lovely, and she sighed as she looked down at her own off-white gown, the only color the dark blue ribbon she'd tied around her bodice. It wasn't fair. But she understood. A little.

A young man dressed in a royal blue leather vest with off-white sleeves and black pants tucked into his brown boots bowed to Kelly and Kathy.

_He must be the prince_, she thought to herself. With his short-yet-shaggy woody-brown hair and light olive skin, high cheekbones and a defined nose, he was handsome. One of the most handsome she'd ever seen, though she didn't see many people. Mostly the queen and Kelly and Kathy. But they only came to scold her, to yell at her. Punish her.

She must have sighed, and loud, too, because the prince looked up and made direct eye-contact with her. She felt her blood freeze, a look of horror on her face, and she shut the door and scrambled away. The ceiling in the room was low enough to access the room if standing on a chair. The prince was tall, however, and he probably wouldn't need one to reach the door and pull himself in. And doing so in front of all the guests…her punishment from the queen would be worse than ever before, and it would be painful and humiliating, in front of her stepsisters.

She retreated to the small circular window, looking out at the courtyard below her, as people laughed and talked to others. She felt envy boil inside her. Why couldn't _she _go out and make friends? Why did she have to stay up here, lonely except for a couple visitors from the kitchen now and again? Just because of who her mother was? Who her father was? It wasn't her fault! It wasn't fair!

She picked up the nearest thing to her—a large, thick book, labeled _The Fairy Godmother_—and threw it across the room, and it hit the other wooden wall with a loud _thunk!_ She heard the queen laugh and say simply, "Must be the cat." There was a pause. "Come, let us return to the feast! After all, in a weeks time, our kingdom shall be joined with Vienn, after one of my lovely daughters—Kelly or Kathy—marries this charming Prince Ethan."

The entire hall erupted in cheer, and she sighed again, and pulled the hand-mirror from beside her, brushing the dust off of the glass. She looked at herself. In the four years since she'd been locked away up here, since her father had died, she'd had too much time to think, and had become overly judgmental about her appearance.

"Perhaps the queen locks me up here because I am ugly," she'd said once, when she was fourteen, about three weeks after her imprisonment began. Now she even thought it was true as she looked at herself.

Straight black hair that could blend in with the night sky, and hung to her waist with bangs straight across her forehead. Eyes so green they resembled grass, with long black eyelashes. Her skin was incredibly white—she'd rarely ever seen the sun as a child, even before she was trapped up here—and looked like the snow that fell to the ground every winter. Her lips—oh, how she hated her lips!—were red as blood. She had a small button nose and her cheekbones were high and defined. Her face itself was shaped like an oval, and she had a small chin with a strong jaw. Father had always said she looked so much like her mother it was impossible.

She put the mirror down as she heard her name, spoken by a deep voice she'd never heard before. "I see the two princesses are here," he said, and she crawled over to the little hatch, opening it a crack to see the prince speaking. "But I've heard there are three. Where is Snow White?"

Snow White's heart skipped a beat and she held her breath, waiting for the queen to respond. Queen Miranda only laughed. "Snow White? Oh, the girl is just a simple rumor around here. She does not actually exist."

Kelly and Kathy glanced up at Snow White and both laughed. Snow felt tears burning her eyes and she shut the door, resting her head on it until she heard the gruff old man speak, and she assumed it was King Alfred.

"Nonsense! I've met the girl myself. She was young, of course, only about five. But she was a cute girl. A bit shy, though," he said. "She'd be, what, seventeen now? Eighteen?"

"Yes, Father often told stories about the funny girl," Ethan argued. "He would say she had wit. Some travelers that came here when she was older always said she was beautiful. Fairest girl in the land."

"Well, you're all mistaken. The king was my husband, after all. I would know if he had another daughter. Anyways, his first queen died in childbirth, as did the baby. He never had any children until my two daughters came with me when he chose me as his queen," the queen answered through her teeth, and Snow heard the squeal as she pushed her chair back. "If you'll excuse me, I shall return in a moment."

QUEEN MIRANDA:

The queen huffed as she entered the secret branch of her bedroom, which contained nothing but a full-length mirror. She strolled up to it and crossed her arms, taking a deep breath. _This isn't needed, _she thought, _but I'll feel better once I do it. _

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall," she said, and a foggy gray shape began to appear as she spoke. "Who is the fairest of them all?" The gray fog developed into merely the shape of a man, and his voice was too deep to be human, and sounded demonic.

"You are the fairest of all, my queen," the mirror responded, but when it spoke next, there was a sort of glee and humor in his words, though he was serious. "But not for long. Someone in this very palace threatens to become the fairest."

"Who?" Miranda screeched. "Kelly? Kathy? I'll kill either of them, if that's what it takes! Who?"

"Neither Kelly nor Kathy, my queen," he responded. "It is the girl whose existence you fail to recognize. The very girl you fear most."

"Impossible!" she screamed.

"Snow White."

SNOW WHITE:

She was resting her head against the cool glass of the window that night when she heard it.

Someone was opening the hatch.

Snow scrambled up and moved behind the bookcase she had placed near the center of the room, for that purpose exactly. The footsteps she heard enter, along with the grunt as they pulled themselves into the room, were loud, and sounded masculine.

Who was there?

"Hello?" the slightly familiar voice called gently. "Who's up here? I saw you earlier, so don't try to hide. I just want to talk to you."

The prince! Snow's breath caught in her throat, and she peeked around the edge of the bookcase. He spotted her and took a step forward. She flinched away. "You shouldn't be up here," she said softly. "She will be upset."

"Who will be upset? Why shouldn't I be up here?" he questioned her, taking another step forward. "What's your name?"

"The queen. She'll punish me. Please go," Snow White whimpered, tears stinging her eyes again. "Please go."

"What's your name?" was his only response. Snow's mind raced to remember the name Queen Miranda had told her to tell anyone who ever asked. Her pause was too long, and she knew Ethan would know she was lying when she spoke.

"Sarah Wright," she responded softly. She hadn't realized he'd come closer to her until he grabbed her elbow to make her face him. He held up the candle she hadn't realized he'd brought to her face to see her better, and she glued her eyes to the floor.

"Well, Sarah Wright," he murmured, tilting her chin up, forcing her to look him in the eyes, and she trembled at his touch. "You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

Her already permanently rosy cheeks flushed with heat and color and she turned her head away. "Please," she whispered. "Go."

She heard him paused before responding. "Goodnight, Sarah."

She didn't respond as she heard him lower himself to the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

QUEEN MIRANDA:

The hunter stood in front her as paced back in forth in the otherwise empty throne room. "Take her to the forest," she snarled. "Kill her there. Leave her body for the animals. But bring me her heart, for proof. Don't let anyone see you. Now go!"

The hunter bowed and left just as an enraged Ethan entered the room. Miranda raised her eyebrows, surprised to see the boy. "Yes, Prince Ethan?"

"You said she didn't exist," he said through his teeth. "But I met her, Queen Miranda. And she's terrified of you."

"Is she? Good," Miranda said, sitting down in her throne. "Now, care to tell me who you are talking about?"

"Snow White. I thought I saw someone in the storage room earlier, so I went back. And there was a girl up there, most beautiful girl I've ever seen. But when I asked her what her name was, it took her almost three minutes to respond. So I asked my father what Snow had looked like when he'd met her. And he said black hair, pale skin, and red lips. Just like the girl I met. Now tell me, Miranda: Why are you hiding her existence from the world?"

Miranda sighed, resting her head on her hand as she spoke the perfect lie, but also the truth, through her lips. "I hide her for her own good and the late king's. You see, Snow White is the king's illegitimate daughter. He simply had an affair with a servant girl, Clare. He said he was going to marry her after their child was born. But Clare died in childbirth. While the king didn't lock her in a room, he still didn't announce her birth to the kingdom, to protect her. When he died, the king's good name was all he had left. I couldn't risk people knowing about her. So I hid her."

"That's not right, Miranda!" Ethan yelled. "She's a human being. She can't hide up there forever! You can't terrify her like that anymore!"

"I'm not going to," the queen said, smiling. What she truly meant was that Snow White would be dead by morning, but what she said was, "Tomorrow, Snow White turns eighteen. I'm going to announce her existence to the kingdom and she'll be named Princess."

He frowned. "You are?"

She nodded and smiled wider. "Of course I am. That's what her father was going to do. Why should I do anything different? I loved the king, and I want to honor his choices."

Ethan paused. "So by tomorrow, I could marry her?"

Miranda's smile disappeared. "Why would you want to do that? Kelly and Kathy are beautiful and charismatic. Either of them would make wonderful wives. Snow White is ugly and shy."

Ethan curled his hands into fists. "She's not ugly. She's the fairest in the world. And I don't blame her for being shy. She's barely spoken to anyone for years."

Miranda sighed. _What use is it? She'll be dead soon anyways, _she thought, and nodded. "You could marry her, if she liked you."

He smiled and bowed to her before running out of the room, intent on going to see Snow White again.

SNOW WHITE:

She was gagged and her wrists bound as she stumbled into the snow that covered the ground after the hunter had pushed her. She had tears running down her cheeks as he yanked her back up and pushed her into the trees.

About a mile into the woods, he pushed her up against the trees, pulling her gag off of her mouth. She trembled and her lip quivered. "Why?"

He shook his head. "You've done nothing to the queen, Your Majesty," he whispered, and cut the rope around her wrists. "I merely had to make a show to the guards. I won't kill you. Now run!"

She stared at him, shaking. He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her further into the trees. "Run, Snow White!"

She fell onto a broken tree before standing back up, shaking from the cold, and ran deeper into the forest.

Not too far gone, however, she felt the cold become to much for her, and she collapsed to the ground. The hunter may have not killed her, but she was still going to die, just like the queen wanted.

QUEEN MIRANDA:

The hunter laid the heart (belonging to a pig, not Snow White, in fact) inside a sack on the queen's dresser. Her eyes glinted. "Show me."

He opened the bag to reveal the freshly-cut heart, blood dripping from the sides. "See, my queen. The deed is done, and Snow White is dead."

"Good. And now I am, once again, fairest of them all," she said, looking into the non-magical mirror next to her, looking over her perfectly golden blonde hair, curling down to her elbow loosely, and her piercing blue eyes, light olive skin without a blemish on it, her straight but small nose, and her full pink lips. She barely looked over twenty-five, though in reality she was nearing forty-five.

The hunter bowed. "Surely you must be," he said before leaving. She looked at her steward, standing motionless in the corner of the room.

"Spread the news to those that know of her existence. Say she ran away into the trees and was killed by wolves, and our dear hunter found her body about ten minutes ago. Say her body has already been burned out of respect," she demanded, and turned towards the mirror again, pulling the skin tighter around her eyes and cheeks.

"Yes, Your Majesty," he said, bowing before leaving the room.

PRINCE ETHAN:

"My king, my prince," the steward said, hanging his head in fake sorrow. "I have devastating news that you must mention to no one but the queen, the two princesses, and myself. About thirty minutes ago, Snow White broke free from the castle and ran into the woods. We don't know why, though. She was…attacked by wolves. Snow White is dead, I am devastated to report." He kept his head down.

Ethan jumped out of his chair. "That's impossible!" he yelled before dashing out of the room and running to the dining hall. He looked up at the open door in the ceiling, and pulled himself inside, looking around the darkness.

Books were scattered across the floor, and blankets and pillows were pushed off the bed. The circular window was broken, a bit of blood on several shards of glass. She must have destroyed the room in anger, he thought. He knelt by the bed, touching the sheets. He'd known her for such little time, but he'd already begun to fall in love with her.

So he hung his head and cried.

***ELEVEN YEARS BEFORE…***

Alexander cupped the cheek of his seven year old daughter, who smiled sheepishly at him. It was her birthday, but also the anniversary of Clare's death. He was going to tell her stories again, about her mother. It was her favorite part of the day.

He pulled her up so she was sitting on one of his knees. "Clare," he began, and Snow White rested her head on his shoulder, waiting. "Was amazing. She always knew how to cheer you up and could make me smile, no matter what. If I was angry, she could calm me down. And when she found out about you, she cried for a week. Not out of sorrow, however, but out of pure joy. She'd always wanted a daughter. In fact, several days before, she told me, as she looked out at the night and the fresh fallen snow, she'd pricked her finger with a needle and let a drop of blood fall into the snow. And as she looked at how the blood compared to the snow and the black of the night, she thought it was beautiful. 'I want my daughter to have hair black as night, lips red as blood, and skin white as snow' she'd say." He touched her nose, chuckling. "And she decided, that if that happened, she would name you Snow White. And it did. I just wish she'd been here to see you now."

"Do you miss mommy?" Snow White asked, half asleep as she spoke, and looked up at her father.

"I do, honey. I miss her very much," he said, and kissed her forehead. "But I'm glad I have you, my strawberry. You are my joy."

Snow White hugged her father tightly. "I love you, daddy."

"I love you too, Snow," he murmured against the top of her head.

SNOW WHITE:

Snow heard voices talking in hushed tones around her as she began waking up. She groaned, her head pounding, and the room became absolutely silent. She blinked once, and the bright light around her stunned her, making her cover her face with her hands. "Ah!"

"Told you we should have left the lights out!" a man whispered. "It's hurting her. Turn 'em off, Torch!"

The lights dimmed and Snow White blinked several times, sitting up groggily and looking around at the seven men that surrounded her. They all smiled at her, except for one of them. Her heartbeat quickened, and she scrambled away from them.

"Where am I?" she demanded. "Who are you? Where am I?"

"Calm down," one of them said, holding up his hands. It was then that Snow White noticed that they were all tiny. Dwarves. "I'm Curly," he said. "You're in our home. We found you unconscious in the woods. Your lips were blue. So we brought you here."

Snow White nodded slightly. "Thank you," she said softly, and looked around again. Another dwarf spoke up.

"I'm Torch," he said.

Another. "Smoky."

"Drum."

"Sax."

"Loco."

"Glace."

Curly looked at her and smiled. "What's your name, then, sweetheart?" he asked, going over to her.

She looked at him nervously. "I'm…I'm…" she shook her head, tears prickling her eyes. Sax noticed and pulled out a handkerchief, and gave it to her. She took it with a shaking hand. "Thanks." She dabbed at her eyes, trying not to break out crying. She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Snow White."

Glace scoffed, rolling his eyes. "She must be a fraud. Snow White is just a story. She's not real."

Curly and the others looked at him then back at Snow White. She shook her head. "I swear that's my name," she pleaded.

"If it is, then why don't people know about you, _Snow White?_" Glace growled, crossing his arms.

She sighed. "I'm an illegitimate daughter of the king. My father wanted to protect me by not telling anyone, but he didn't deny my existence like my stepmother does. She's locked me in an attic-like storage room for the last four years."

"Who was your mother?" Drum asked curiously, gazing at her sheepishly as he held his head up with his hand and rested his elbow on the table.

"Clare," Snow White said. "I never met her, but my father said she was a wonderful person."

"Why didn't he marry her, then?" asked Smoky.

"Because she died when I was born."


	3. Chapter 3

"She died?" Curly asked, and Snow nodded.

"Eighteen years ago…today actually," she responded, looking up at the sun. She looked down at her hands. "Father always said that when I turned eighteen he would make me an official princess. When he died, that promise died, too."

"Why does your stepmother hide you?" Sax asked, frowning. "You're beautiful. I don't know why anyone would want to hide you."

"She never told me," Snow White said softly. "I've always assumed she's ashamed of me. But she sent me out here to be killed…I don't know why."

"Well, you don't have to worry, Miss Snow," Curly said, smiling. "The evil queen will not find you here, its impossible."

Snow White stood up and looked out the makeshift door and found she was still in the forest, but the house was located inside a large oak tree and beneath it. She walked outside, and started speaking, mostly to herself. "There's a ball tonight. Prince Ethan is going to choose Kelly or Kathy to be his wife. And the world will never know I existed."

Someone patted her back, and she looked down to see Loco and the six other dwarves. "Who's this Ethan?" Loco asked in a gentle voice. "Was he special to you?"

Snow put a hand on her cheek and sighed. "I just met him once. But he was kind to me…no one, no royal person, has been kind to me since my father died. I liked him."

The seven men mumbled to each other for a moment, and she turned to look at them. Curly looked at her. "We could take you to the palace. It's open to all, is it not? And it's a masquerade. The queen would never know you were there. But you'd have to leave afterwards."

Snow's lip quivered. "Could you?" she whispered, and six of them smiled at her.

"Of course," Torch said, shrugging. "I think we may have a mask for you. But if not, the nearby town will be happy to help out. Snow White is a legend there. They hope for her to finally rid this kingdom of the evil queen."

Snow White blushed. "Thank you. All of you," she murmured, but looked down at herself. "I don't think…I don't think I'll be let in with this." She tugged at her stained and ripped gown.

"We know someone who can take care of that," Sax said. "Come on." He grabbed her hand and started pulling her through the trees.

"I am in the presence of Snow White!" the dress maid squealed as she took Snow's measurements for a new gown. "This is unbelievable!"

She handed Snow a simple blue and white gown. "You can wear that until your dress is done for tonight. And I believe your escorts," She giggled, glancing at the six happy dwarves and the one grumpy one. "Are waiting for you to choose a mask."

Snow White changed and walked over to the dwarves, where they grinned and held out two masks, one of them pure white with fake diamonds sewn into the edges, and the other a black one outlined with gold-colored thread. She smiled at both but picked up the white one. "This ones lovely. They both are. But this is my favorite."

Curly and Smoky laughed. "We chose that one. Knew you'd like it best, Snow," Smoky said. Snow smiled and kissed their foreheads, making them both blush.

"Miss Snow?" the dress maid called. "Please come choose your fabric and color."

Snow White smiled and nodded. For once in the last four years, she was being treated like an actual human, and not some unwanted pup or a speck of dust.

Snow White kissed each of the dwarves' foreheads outside the castle. "You look lovely. More than usual," they said, blushing. She smiled, but there was a nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach. She put on her mask and took a deep breath.

"Thank you for everything," she said. "I'll be back by ten. I promise." She picked up the skirts to her snow-white dress and took another deep breath before walking through the doors of the palace that had been her prison for the last eighteen years. Though with her father, it had never been a prison. Only with the queen.

PRINCE ETHAN:

He was still downcast from Snow White's sudden death. But he had to put on a smile, especially for the people of the kingdom. Kelly currently was telling him a story, but he wasn't paying attention. In mere minutes, he was to choose his wife.

But he didn't want Kelly or Kathy.

He wanted Snow White.

"Ethan, dear? Are you listening?" Kelly whined, frowning at him and taking a sip of champagne.

"What? Oh, yes. Of course," he lied, and scanned the crowd. A flash of pure white caught his attention towards the back of the ballroom.

"Then you remember what awful habits Kathy has? She's disgusting. _I _should be your wife, darling," she purred, and he looked down at her. "You are going to choose me, correct?"

He smiled uneasily. The thought of being with her or her sister repulsed him. "I guess you'll have to find out soon," he said.

"She should find out now," Queen Miranda said from behind them, smiling. "Prince Ethan, it's time to choose your bride."

"Of course…" he murmured, and looked towards the back of the room. He spotted the girl that had caught his attention before: she was dressed in a pure white dress with lace sleeves, and the mask that took up half her face sparkled. But her hair was as black as the night, and her lips as red as blood. She was leaning against the pillar in the back, looking at him longingly.

"Excuse me," he said, and pushed his way through the crowd. When he got to the back, she was gone. "Snow?" he whispered.

SNOW WHITE:

Snow had seen him coming and dashed behind another pillar, but continued watching him. Her arms ached to touch him and hold him, her lips to burst and tell him how sorry she was.

"Prince Ethan will now choose his bride!" Queen Miranda announced from the front of the ballroom, near her throne. "Ethan?"

Snow White clenched her hands when she heard that, but only watched Ethan. He ignored the stares that he was getting from everyone else and looked around the room. She felt her cheeks heat up but her blood freeze when he spotted her. She began to back up slowly, planning on bolting out of there, but he, still ignoring the other people, especially the Queen, rushed towards her and grabbed her hand.

She tried to tug her arm away, but he was far stronger than she was, and he pulled her into the dining hall that was connected to the ballroom. She stared at him with wide eyes as he studied her before reaching a hesitant hand forward and pulling her mask off.

"How are you alive?" he whispered. "Or am I just dreaming? Please, tell me I'm not dreaming, Snow."

She struggled to find her voice. "They…they can't know I'm here. The queen will send soldiers after me. Don't tell them."

He reached towards her again and touched her face gently. She closed her eyes and sighed, putting her pale hand over his. "The queen said you were dead. She said you'd run away and killed by wolves."

"Why would I run? I had no where to go. She…she hired someone to kill me. But he took pity on me and let me go," Snow whispered, and he pulled her into his arms.

"That can't be true. Queen Miranda was devastated when she heard," he protested. She looked up at him.

"Do you think I'm lying?" she demanded in a quiet voice. "Why on earth would I lie?"

"She locked you in an attic! I don't know. You might say anything to get her into trouble, Snow White."

She pushed him away from her, grabbing her mask. "This was a mistake. I should not have come back here tonight. I should have let you marry one of my stepsisters. You should think I'm dead."

He grabbed her hand. "Don't go, Snow," he pleaded. "Stay here with me."

Snow White turned and faced him, her expression revealing her surprise. "Stay here? With the woman who tried to kill me? No!"

"Then come back to Vienn with me. We'll leave this whole thing behind us. You won't have to run anymore!" He put his hands on both sides of her face gently, looking into her eyes. She blushed and looked away.

"I barely know you," she murmured. "I can't." She turned away. "I need to be going now. I wasn't coming for long. I…I just wanted to see you." She started towards the doors at the end of the dining hall, which led outside to near the dwarves.

He followed her. "I'm not going to marry Kelly or Kathy, Snow White," he said, catching her waist. "I'm going to wait for you."

She looked up. "You could be waiting a very long time, Prince Ethan," she whispered. He bent down and kissed her gently. She jumped slightly in surprise, but kissed him back after several seconds, putting her hand on the back of his neck.

"Prince Ethan?" someone called from the doorway, and Snow White broke the kiss, glancing at the steward at the door before looking back at Ethan.

"Goodbye," she murmured before picking up her skirts and dashing out the doors.

PRINCE ETHAN:

"Ethan!" King Alfred called from the doors, and he looked at his father, whose expression revealed anger and surprise. "What do you think you're doing?"

Ethan's face was lit up and he pulled his father to the side of the room, making sure the doors were shut. "Snow White is alive!" he whispered, a smile taking up half his face. His father looked at him, baffled.

"Son, are you feeling alright? You know that cannot possibly be true," King Alfred replied gently. Ethan shook his head.

"No, she's alive, but she's desperate to keep the queen thinking she's dead. She told me that the queen was behind her attempted murder, and that's why she won't come home," he said.

"Preposterous! The queen would do no such thing. I'm sure you told her this?" the king asked.

"Of course I did! But it upset her greatly when she thought I didn't believe her. But I don't care what happened then, Father. I just care that she's alive!"

"But son, you've already been pledged to Princess Kelly or Princess Kathy. You cannot believe you can marry the Snow White girl."

"No, Father. I've been pledged to a princess of this kingdom. And by birthright, Snow White is indeed a princess! Her father intended to make it official tonight, but she has always been his daughter, and therefore, a princess." Ethan looked at his father pleadingly. "Kelly and Kathy are vile women, Father. I don't want to marry either of them. But Snow White…she is beautiful, charming, and kind."

King Alfred sighed. "But what of the queen? If this Snow White intends to keep her existence a secret, how to you think you will marry her?"

He shook his head. "I don't know yet. But I need to find her again. And when I do, then we'll discuss it."

QUEEN MIRANDA:

Listening at the wooden doors of the dining hall, the queen became infuriated. She immediately stormed off, despite the desperate sobs of her twin daughters, and dashed into her bedroom. She removed the large painting of herself that hung at the entrance of her secret room and faced the stand-up mirror in the otherwise empty room.

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall," she growled through her teeth, and watched as the gray man-shaped fog began to form. "Who is the fairest of them all?"

"No longer are you the fairest, my queen," the demon inside the mirror responded, cackling evilly. "But it is Snow White that holds the beauty."

"What?" the queen shrieked. "How can that wench be alive?"

"Your hunter has failed you, my queen. He has disobeyed your orders. He allowed the young girl to live." As the queen screamed in rage, the mirror continued talking. "But then, you must kill her yourself. After all, if you are to become fairest once again, then Snow White's blood must be spilled by your own hand."

Queen Miranda stopped screaming and an evil smile replaced her enraged expression. "Of course! If you want something done right, do it yourself."

The gray fog cleared, and the queen's reflection was revealed, though the reflection had red eyes and sharp teeth. "Dip into your dark magic, my queen," the demon hissed. "Trick the girl into taking her own life."

As the queen's demonic reflection began to fade, the image of a black apple flashed several times across the screen. "Poison apple!" the queen cackled.


End file.
